OK I've lived here for going on 50 years & really have/had no idea what these 2 actually did/do. I've never been to Jungle Larry's & am still bothered by the toucan sign on 41 being torn down. I'm not taking away anything from them because I look at this way they have given the rest of us the right (or nerve) to walk around with cool clothes...
I guess the people all over Ohio walk around lookin' pretty snappy too.
It's kinda like Batman or Superman (for their fashion sense) livin' in your hood.
When I was a kid and saw Jungle Larry in his safari suit walking through town, I thought he was a cop.
ReplyDeleteI'll tell ya what they did, BH. They tried to have me and Billy Gallman at about 11 years old thrown in jail for fishing the minnows out of the pond underneath the "Caribbean Gardens" sign on 41.
ReplyDeleteJungle Larry came sliding-up in his bran new white convertable 1969 El Dorado with his straw fedora and ascot, and told us to "freeze the cops are on the way... those are rare tropical fish your stealing". After a stern warning from both Jungle Larry and the Fuzz we left and vowed never to do it again. I'm still laughin' to this day.
Ditch fish?
C3R
No, Brookside Homeboy. Not super heroes (that would be John Gray & the Hawaiian Pearl, only). Larry and Jane, that was more like The Joker or Lex Luther or Catwoman in our midst. You telling me Jungle Larry's didn't seem like a super villain's lair to you? Next you'll be saying the Gourmet Castle was run by the Justice League and that Chris was our last chance against zombies coming down from Tampa.
ReplyDeleteOK, homeboys and homegirls, I worked at Jungle Larry’s in 1971. I may have told you the story about being a “guide” at Jungle Larry’s when there were no trains or trams running. (Are there trams there, now?)
ReplyDeleteThey gave us a book that we were supposed to learn all the names of all the foliage in the park. (Yeah right, I’m 17 and I’m gonna to homework for Jungle Larry?) So I did the next best thing, Made up a name!
TOURIST: “Oh, what’s that beautiful flower?” ME: Oh that’s a Hawaiinian croton begonia orchidsasia, commonly known as a Hibiscus flower in these here parts, Miss.”
Anyway, Jungle Larry was an odd duck, that’s for sure, however that is a teenage reaction to him. I just remember his big booming voice when he would enter the room, and “entrances” was what he liked to make!
“HELLO, I'M JUNGLE LARRY!, just back from my safari in Africa! Don’t forget to visit our gift store and purchase a few trinkets I picked up from the Natives in Africa!”
Honestly, we would just be finishing unpacking our crates, straight from a warehouse in Miami, everything clearly marked “Made in China,” but he would convince the tourists that he picked them up in Africa, even going so far as telling the tourists a story of intrigue and the bravery it took to acquire some of his items from Africa! Oh what a pip!
I remember Safari Jane as aloof and stand-offish. Of course, again, perhaps she was just shy?
The trainer/groundskeeper lived on the property. When new animal babies were born, the trainer/groundskeeper would keep them at his house, so when I was asked to babysit for them one night, along with their kids, I was in charge of two baby chimps and the baby Tiglons. Oh what a night! (Remember the Tiglons? Whatever happened to those guys I wonder?)
LakeParkhomegirl
Oh, and I think I should add if Ms. Jane Tetzlaff or the Tetzlaff children read this blog, absolutely no disrespect intended.
ReplyDeleteWorking at Jungle Larry’s was one of the highlights of my teenage life in Naples!
LakeParkHomegirl
Yes, I remember Jungle Larry and the park like it was yesterday. The reason I think was because of these incredible shows. I remember Jungle Larry working with 4 male Lions and there was a blond I think german guy on a microfone and they both were talking during the entire performance. It was like a comedy show and people just loved it. Also this blonde man was working with 3 huge tigers like they were little kittens and also elephants with leopards riding them and chimpanzees. I always wondered what ever happened to him?? Anyway the shows back then in the 70's were very entertaining.
DeleteOkay, for those of you that miss the toucan sign, if you pay a visit to "The Naples Zoo" these days, you will find the bird from the sign on premises (suitable for photographs of crotchety old farts like us and our off spring). There are no trams or the like - although there is a boat ride in a pond on the eastern side of the property. Otherwise, between the "re-development" of Dr. Fleishmann's gardens over the last 40+ years, saltwater intrusion into the property's wells and springs (thank you ever so much, Gulf-American, for wrecking the water table), and global warming, the Gardens are a mess. About the only things recognizable are the banyans and the misplaced toucan.
ReplyDeleteI just visited with my now 6-year-old son, and saw where the toucan sign is now. It was still out on the road during the '04-'05 hurricane season, when he was a wee one!! I was stunned to see it out in the hammock.
ReplyDeleteAnd no, I will still call in Jungle Larry's. So will my son. We do not call it "The Naples Zoo" as the signage now dicates we do so.
I'm not so much for rules.
Florida Native
I choose to call it "Caribbean Gardens" the way Julius Fleischmann intended . . .
ReplyDeleteSeagate Homeboy
NHS 1967
10:18 AM PDT